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What does Dell’s XPS 15 excel at?
Dell's 2019 XPS lineup has done well across the board -- both reviewers and consumers alike were impressed by the performance, speed and sleek design of last year's XPS 13. Its big brother, the XPS 15, continued that trend. With a ninth-generation eight-core Intel i9 CPU, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1660 GPU, the configuration we tested in September delighted reviews editor Cherlynn Low. She was particularly thrilled by the vibrant display, powerful performance and long-lasting battery, though less enthusiastic about the laptop's rather hefty weight of 4.4 pounds. The XPS 15 earned a score of 85 (a full 8 points lower than the XPS 13).
PC sales experienced annual growth for the first time in years
2019 was the first good year for the PC industry in a long while, according to both Gartner and IDC. It's the first time in seven years that the global PC market has experienced growth for the full year, Gartner says. IDC reported a similar finding, specifying that 2019's results show the first full year of PC growth since the market grew by 1.7 percent way back in 2011.
The future of foldable tablets got clearer at CES 2020
Déjà vu hit me in a big way at CES 2020. As one of Engadget's PC-beat reporters, I had been taking briefings with laptop makers to check out their news for the conference. From Lenovo and Dell to Intel, companies showed off devices with folding screens that were bigger than the Galaxy Fold's 7.3-inch panel. As it turns out, a bigger foldable actually makes a lot more sense, and at CES we saw the industry begin to work out the broad strokes of what a foldable PC would do.
CES 2020 recap: Day three
CES 2020 isn't a PC show per se, but recently manufacturers have used it to show off their most out-there prototypes. Take Intel's Horseshoe Bend, a 17-inch PC that's entirely covered by a flexible display to show off the potential of huge foldable devices. Dell, meanwhile, took another approach with the Concept Duet laptop that has two screens rather than one big flexible display. Just to show that it can do folding too, Dell also unveiled the Concept Ori tablet that supersizes bendy smartphones to tablet size. Lenovo went the farthest, however, with its ThinkPad X1 Fold, a folding tablet that it actually plans to sell. All of this shows that manufacturers are trying to make bendable devices happen, even if consumers aren't sure yet. For more, follow along with Engadget's complete CES 2020 coverage.
Vote for the Best of CES 2020 People's Choice Awards!
We've announced our Best of CES finalists, so now it's time for you to cast your vote for your favorite gadget at CES 2020! Just head over here (or below) to pick your three favorite items from our pool of finalists. You have until 6 PM ET tomorrow, January 9th, to get your votes in.
Dell debuts an AMD Ryzen version of its G5 gaming laptop
Dell is expanding its G5 gaming laptop line with an unusual addition: AMD hardware under the hood. Its new G5 15 Special Edition will run on AMD's new "Renoir-H" Ryzen laptop processors and Radeon RX 5600M graphics, giving you solid mid-tier performance if you don't care much for the Intel/NVIDIA combos that often dictate gaming portables. Not surprisingly, there's an option for a FreeSync-compatible 144Hz display to help deliver tear-free visuals.
Dell's 'Concept UFO' is a wild Switch-like portable gaming PC
We're in a strange new era of personal computing, one where our machines can twist into tablets, weigh just a few pounds, and pack in multiple screens. At CES, things are getting even weirder. Dell just unveiled the Concept UFO, a chunky portable PC with removable gamepads, a la the Switch, and a large 8-inch screen. And yes, you can also dock it to a TV.
Dell made an intriguing pair of dual-screen and foldable tablet concept PCs
We may have left 2019 in the rearview mirror, but we clearly haven't given up on the foldable and dual-screen dreams just yet. In addition to a new flagship XPS 13 and a 5G-ready business laptop, Dell is here at CES 2020 with a few concept devices to show off. They're called the Concept Ori and Concept Duet, and are perhaps the company's most interesting offerings for the show. Dell gave reporters a preview at a recent briefing in New York, alongside an Alienware concept handheld console that is very reminiscent of a Nintendo Switch. Sadly, there's no details yet on when, if ever, these prototypes will become widely available.
Dell's Latitude 9510 is a business laptop with 5G and AI smarts
Dell is expanding its Latitude brand of business laptops by adding a 9000-series, starting with the new Latitude 9510. As with some other recent notebook launches, the company is highlighting a few superlatives here. Dell is calling the Latitude 9510 "world's most intelligent 15-inch PC with built-in AI," the "world's smallest, lightest ultra-premium business 15-inch PC" and the "longest running 15-inch PC." That's a lot to promise, but let's start with one specific detail here. Dell is saying that the 15-inch Latitude 9510 can last up to an impressive 30 hours on a charge.
Dell’s new XPS 13 is all about style
A strange thing happened last year: Dell's XPS 13 2-in-1 in many ways outshined the standard XPS 13. The convertible notebook had a sleeker modern design, a larger screen aspect ratio, and even thinner screen bezels than its clamshell sibling. Now, Dell is ready to do justice to the XPS 13. The 2020 model brings over everything we saw with the 2-in-1, except the ability to fold around (naturally).
Dell's latest monitors include the 240Hz Alienware 25
In time for CES, Dell has announced a bevy of new monitors offering features including super high refresh rates, built-in color calibrators and a massive display which can show content from four different devices simultaneously.
Dell made an 86-inch touchscreen monitor for the workplace
Microsoft's 85-inch Surface Hub 2S has some competition. Today, Dell is announcing an 86-inch (okay, 85.6-inch) Interactive Touch Monitor aimed at business types who are constantly yammering about productivity and collaboration. It's an IPS 4K panel that comes with anti-glare and anti-smudge coatings -- useful when you're in a glass-box meeting room with someone who has just finished their lunch -- and Dell's blue-light-reducing ComfortView technology. The giant screen also supports up to 20 simultaneous touch points, which means multiple people can walk up and scribble with their digits or one of Dell's improved dual-tip styluses.
The best ultrawide monitors
By Thorin Klosowski This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to ultrawide monitors. After spending 10 hours researching monitors and then 25 hours testing five, we found that the Acer XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx (yes, that's the full model name) is the best ultrawide monitor. The 34-inch, 3440×1440-pixel display is as color accurate as we've seen in an ultrawide. The display's wide resolution makes it an excellent replacement for a dual-monitor setup, provided you're willing to pay between $600 and $700. The viewable space of the Acer XR342CK is just short of what you get from two 24-inch 1080p monitors. This monitor is huge, and the adjustable stand lifts, tilts, and swivels. Its two HDMI ports and DisplayPort offer plenty of ways to connect devices, and the four-port USB hub lets you easily keep cable clutter to a minimum. The XR342CK is the only ultrawide in this price range with a USB-C port that outputs 60 W, so you can connect and charge a modern MacBook Pro or Windows laptop with a single cable. And it supports a few nice-to-have features such as a faster-than-normal 100 Hz refresh rate and AMD's FreeSync (it also works with Nvidia cards in our testing), which makes it an excellent choice for gaming. But the picture-by-picture mode on this Acer model doesn't work as we expect, making the XR342CK a bad choice for two-computer setups. Although this model has an HDR mode, we recommend leaving that off because it makes everything look worse. And its three-year warranty doesn't cover pixel failure like the warranty for our runner-up, the Dell U3419W, does. If the Acer isn't available, or if you want to connect two computers to one monitor, get the Dell U3419W. It's as color-accurate as the Acer and has a similar selection of ports but typically costs more. Alongside a USB-C port that provides up to 90 W of power to a connected laptop, the U3419W has two upstream USB ports so you can connect two computers to the built-in KVM switch. (The USB-C port also works as an upstream port.) This Dell model's picture-by-picture mode is much better than that of the Acer monitor, making the U3419W the more useful option if you're replacing a two-computer, dual-monitor setup. Like Acer, Dell offers a three-year warranty, but Dell's covers more, including replacing the monitor if a pixel dims or burns out.
China bans all government departments from using US-made technology
It was only a matter of time before China started offering trade bans to US companies in return for the ban on Huawei's gear. The Financial Times is reporting that Beijing has ordered all government institutions and public bodies to get rid of their foreign (i.e. western) computer gear. According to the report, China will spend between now and 2022 transitioning off American hardware and software in favor of local alternatives.
Get $750 off Dell's loaded Alienware m15 gaming laptop
It took Dell long enough to make a thin and light gaming laptop, but the Alienware m15 was worth the wait. While it's a bit chunkier than rival models at 18mm and 4.8 pounds, the latest m15 model has performance to burn, along with a great display, keyboard and trackpad. For Cyber Monday, Dell has marked down a fully specced out Alienware m15, with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, top-tier Intel Core i7-9750H CPU, 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 240Hz display, 512GB PCIe m.2 SSD and no less than 32GB of RAM. That's nearly a fully-loaded model with a ray-tracing GPU and a display that's a good fit for it. The extra RAM and good-sized GPU will also be handy for productivity and content creation chores and you've got room for another M.2 and regular SSD, should you need it for video editing chores. Best of all, it costs just $1,399.99 on Dell's website, or a generous $750 off the regular $2,149.99 price.
LG Gram 17 review: The oversized thin-and-light no one asked for
Apple's MacBook Pro 16-inch may be big, but there's a bigger laptop in town. Okay, so there are plenty of bigger laptops around, but the LG Gram 17 is not only larger, but it's also much lighter. It offers a gorgeous, gigantic 17-inch screen that you can take with you, just in case you need a roomier canvas on the go. LG has proven it can fit a big screen in a small package, but the Gram 17 doesn't pack the performance punch you might expect from a system this size. So the question is, who needs a screen this large in a thin-and-light frame, but not the horsepower that usually goes along with it?
Dell's Black Friday discounts include $220 off the Alienware 25 monitor
Dell's Black Friday deals are here a week early. There are discounts on laptops, desktops, smart TVs and all of the accessories you might need. Dell says the supplies are limited, so if you spot a deal you want, it might be best to act fast. Here are a few of the best deals we spotted.
The best 4K monitors
By Justin Krajeski This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to 4k monitors. Anyone buying a monitor in 2019 should consider a 4K monitor first: They don't cost much more than non-4K models, and they look a hell of a lot better. After spending 50 hours researching nearly 60 monitors and testing six finalists, we found that the HP Z27 is still the best 4K monitor for most people. It's extremely color accurate, it can charge your laptop from its USB-C port, and it has a highly ergonomic stand. The HP Z27 is the best 4K monitor especially if you have a USB-C laptop or plan to get one, which is more and more likely in 2019. The screen is one of the most color-accurate we found, and its stand is more adjustable than most, with tilt, pivot, swivel, and height adjustments that make it easy to set at the correct height and position for your needs, especially if multiple people share the same monitor. The USB-C port means that if you have a compatible laptop, such as a recent MacBook or Windows ultrabook, you can use the single USB-C connection to connect to the screen, charge your laptop at up to 65 W, and power the monitor's two USB 3.0 ports for use with mice, keyboards, storage, or other devices, all at the same time; this dramatically reduces the number of cables around your desk. The monitor also has thin bezels, so the screen appears larger and the monitor takes up less space than some other models. (Thin bezels also just look better.) HP covers the Z27 with a three-year warranty and a dead-pixel policy that should be a comfort to anyone buying a 4K monitor. The Lenovo ThinkVision P27u is a good runner-up option if the HP Z27 is out of stock or too expensive. Its colors are a bit more accurate than the Z27's—albeit not in ways that are detectable to the naked eye—but its contrast ratio is a bit worse, which is noticeable. Its adjustable stand lifts, tilts, and pivots, but it doesn't swivel like the Z27's does. Nor is this monitor as aesthetically pleasing: Its buttons are on the front, its base is rounded instead of squared, and a thick neck connects the monitor to the base, in contrast to the HP design's thinner, dual stems. Like the HP, the Lenovo can connect and charge a laptop via USB-C, and it includes a useful DisplayPort connection as well as HDMI and USB 3.0 ports. Like the Z27, the ThinkVision P27u has thin bezels around the sides and the top, which makes its screen nice to look at. It comes with a three-year warranty, too. Although the Dell UltraSharp U2718Q offers an amount of adjustability similar to that of the HP Z27 to accommodate different postures at work, in our testing it wasn't as color-accurate—in particular, its grayscales were inaccurate, which could lend a colored tint to monochrome images. It also lacks USB-C connectivity. We think USB-C support on a monitor is worth paying more for in 2019, but if you don't think the same—for example, if you plan to use your monitor only with desktop computers that have discrete graphics cards, which don't usually support USB-C—you can typically save about $100 by buying the U2718Q instead of the HP Z27 or Lenovo P27u. The U2718Q comes with a useful three-year warranty, as well as a Premium Panel Guarantee that covers defective pixels; if there's even one bright pixel, Dell will replace the whole monitor. If you buy the Dell U2718Q, make sure it's running firmware version M2B102 or newer, and update it following these steps if necessary; older firmware versions produced visibly inaccurate greens and yellows that this firmware version fixes. If you want a physically larger screen, a monitor you can use with two computers at the same time, or one that can charge a 15-inch MacBook Pro at full speed over its USB-C port, we recommend the 32-inch Dell UltraSharp U3219Q. Its color accuracy is comparable to that of our top picks, and it has plenty of ports, including a USB-C port that can receive the video signal, provide a data connection between your computer and the monitor's USB 3.0 ports, and charge your laptop at up to 90 W. The U3219Q also has rare features such as a built-in KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) feature and picture-by-picture mode, which allow you to use a single keyboard and mouse to control two computers and even view both on screen simultaneously. The U3219Q costs nearly $200 more than our pick at the moment and takes up significantly more space, but if you want to avoid scaling or you're running a two-computer setup, it's an excellent choice. If you don't have room on your desk for a 27-inch monitor but you still want a good 4K screen, get Dell's P2415Q. The P2415Q's screen is 3 inches smaller diagonally than the HP Z27's, with extremely accurate colors and similar features. It has HDMI and DisplayPort connections plus four USB 3.0 ports, and its stand is just as adjustable as that of the Z27. The relatively thick screen bezel makes it look chunky next to newer 4K monitors, but it's still the best 24-inch 4K monitor we've tested. It comes with the same dead-pixel policy and warranty as the Dell U2718Q. It doesn't have USB-C support, but we can't find a 24-inch 4K monitor that does.
Dell's Black Friday sale includes price cuts on the XPS 13 and Alienware m15
With Black Friday around the corner, now is the perfect time to purchase a laptop if you need a new one. Dell has discounted most of its laptops, including popular ones like the XPS 13. Act fast, however, as a couple of models have already sold out.
Dell says it will power all of its facilities with renewable energy by 2040
Dell has announced new sustainability initiatives as part of the "Progress Made Real" plan the company shared on Tuesday. The centerpiece of the company's new climate change plan is to source 75 percent of the power for all of its facilities from renewables, and 100 percent by 2040. Dell also plans to make its supply chain and devices more energy efficient along the way. For comparison, Apple announced that as of last year all of its facilities were powered by renewables -- though it was able to achieve that milestone by taking advantage of carbon offsets and credits.
